Spurious-coin detector.



No. 881,037. PATENTED MAR. 3, 1908. L. A. VANDIVER.

SPURIOUS COIN DETECTOR. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 21, 1907.

' z 2/ LwZz'aAImd'Ver A TTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- LESLIE A. VANDIVER, OFHANN IBAL, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO JOHN W.

VANDIVER, OF HAGERS GROVE, MISSOURI, AND ONE-FOURTH TO ROBERT H. VISGER,

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SPURIOUS-COIN DETECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 3, 1908.

Application filed February 21, 1907. Serial No. 358,670.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEsLIE A. VANDIVER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hannibal, in the county of Marion and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Spurious-Coin Detector, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in spurious coin detectors for coin-controlled vending machines, and its object is to provide a means whereby bogus, spurious or counterfeit coins will be rejected by the machine automatically even though they be of the same size as the genuine coins of the value for which the machine is designed to operate.

To this end the invention comprises means whereby the momentum of a genuine coin traveling down the inclined coin chute will cause it to automatically find its way to the proper point and be deposited into the mechanism with which the genuine coin will coact, while when a spurious coin is inserted in the same coin opening its downward movement will be so retarded that it will be diverted so that instead of falling into the operating mechanism of the machine it will be directed into another passageway which will direct it to the outside of the machine without putting the machine into operative condition.

One means of carrying out my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming part of this s ecification, in which,-- Figure 1 is a vertica section of a coin-controlled vending machine with my improve ments forming a part thereof; and Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a detail thereof.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a casing 1 of ordinary or approved construction provided with a door 2 at one side and mounted on a suitable base 3. The mechanism for delivering the goods and operated by the introduction of a genuine coin of the proper value is located with a suitable inclosure 4 within the casing, but as these parts form no part of the present invention they are not illustrated.

Leading from the opening 5, on one side of the casing, provided for the introduction of a coin, is an inclined chute 6 in the form of a shallow'comp'oun d curve falling continuously from theCoin-opening to a Joint near 'acoin receiver 7, at which point t e bottom of the chute lies very nearly horizontal. The coinreceiver 7 is'so'located as to drop'any coin that falls into it into a coin-receiver 8 connected with the delivery mechanism and so arranged that the coin 9 shown therein will coact with saidinechanism to unlock it and allow the delivery of the goods designed to be delivered by the normal operation of the machine.

At the discharge end of the chute 6 and between the same and the coin-receiver 7 is a lever or plate 10 with its pivot point almost 'directly below but at a little distance from the delivery end of said chute. This-lever has a short arm 11 between the delivery end of the chute and the coin-receiver 7 and another arm 12 extends from the pivot oint downward into the u per end of an inc ined chute 13 which terminates at the outside of the machine in a small delivery pocket 14 for the spurious coins. The lever 10 is mounted on a stud 15, fast on the upper end of a plate 1.6, through which latter there eX- tends a longitudinal slot 17, and this plate 16 is carried by a fiat bracket 18 having its ends 19 bent as shown to constitute a means of attachment of this bracket to the walls of'the inclosure 4. The bracket 18 has a longitudinal slot 20. The plate 16 is applied to the bracket 18 with the two slots 17 and 20 crossing each other at right angles and a stud bolt 21, with a wing nut 22, is provided to hold the plate to the bracket in any position of adjustment permitted by the slots 17 and 20. By this means the relation of the pivotal point of the lever or plate 10 to the lower end of the chute 6 may be very accurately adjusted.

In order to overbalance the end 12 of the lever 10, the latter may have an adjustable weight 23 secured to it by means of a pendent arm 24 so that the normal tendency of the lever is to rest in approximately the position shown in Fig. 1. The degree of overbalance of the end 12 of the lever 10 is very accurately determined'by the position of the weight 23 on the arm 24, with relation to the pivotal point of the lever. Any other overbalancing means may be used if desired. By this means the end 12hangs'downward into the is in the path of any coin whichinay tend to pass into the'receptacle7.

y The bottom 'of the chute 6 hasalining of lead or other'materi'al designedto' retard inc coin is inserted into the mac 'ne.

any spurious coin moving down the same. Since many spurious or counterfeit coins are made of lead or lead composition, a lead lining will retard the progress of these coins down the chute while it will cause but little resistance to a genuine coin such as a nickel five-cent piece or a silver iece or even a copper coin, as there is muc greater frictional resistance between relatively moving surfaces of the same metal than between those of unlike metals. A soft metal lining such as a lead lining will also retard the speed of brass, iron, cop er or other like slugs made by hand or finis ed with a file or otherwise, having rough or marred surfaces. But coins that have been molded or stamped will pass over the lead lining without appreciable or suflicient'retardation to prevent them from operating as desired. Now, su pose a genu- It will travel down the chute 6 with accelerated speed and will have enough momentum when it reaches the lower end of the chute to be projected either entirely over the short end 11 of the lever 10 or, striking the same near its upper end, tilt it to the position shown indotte lines, and from thence drop into the receptacle 7 and finally find its way into the coin-slide 8 in position to coact with the rest of the machine in the designed manner. If, instead of a genuine coin, a lead or lead composition substitute, or a rough, or sharpedged, or marred slug of any metal, be placed in the coin chute, the frictional resistance between the s urious coin and the bottom of the chute W1ll be sufficient toretard the fall of the coin'along the bottom of the chute and b the time it reaches the delivery end of the cli ute it will have been so greatly retarded by the drag of the lead or other retarding bottom that it will simply tilt over the delivery end of the chute and fall upon the lever 10 closer to the ivotal point of the latter than when the ever is struck by a genuine, full-weight coin. Thus, because of its slight momentum and the closeness to the lever pivot of the point of contact, the s urious coin or slug 1s unable to tilt the ever against the overbalancing end 12. It is obvious that this coin will be directed by the lever into the chute 13 and as the latter offers no special retarding action to such a coin it will slide down into the notify the person who inserted it in the chute that the machine refuses to accept it.

In order to avoid the operation of the machine by imitation coins of magnetic material used as substitutes for genuine coins, I locate a permanent magnet 26 near the lower end of the chute 6 at a point where the inclination thereof approaches the horizontal and the coin naturally begins to slow up. The magnet is placed far enough away from -f the bottom of the chute to avoid attracting such substitute coins of magnetic material pocket 14 and so further than to retard their progress so that by the time they reach the lower end of the chute their momentum is so reduced that they merely tilt over the end of the same and are directed into the exit chute 13. Should a genuine coin of light weight be inserted in the machine, that is, a coin of such light weight as to be no longer good as money, it will on its assage down the chute 6 move with less ve ocity than a genuine coin of full weight or so little worn as not to affect its value as money. The under-weight coin will then hit the lever 10 with so little momentum as to fail to turn it on its pivot against the overbalancing or counterweight 12, and this li ht weight coin will therefore be guided into t e chute 13 and ejected from the machine.

In order to adjust the inclination of the chute 6, it is hinged at the upper end to the. case 1, as shown at 27, and an adjustable stop-screw 28 mounted in a bracket 29 fast on the side of the case may be used to adjust the chute around its hinge. Near the lower end the chute may be su ported by a bracket 30 fast, adjustably, to t lle wall of the inclosure 4 by a thumb-screw 31 passing through a slot 32 in the bracket.

In the drawing the manner in which the coins move, both when genuine and directed to the operative parts of the machine, and when spurious or li ht weight and directed to the ejectin part 0 the machine, is indicated by dotted ines and arrows.

By the use of the word "coin it is intended to cover all spurious coins, slugs, tokens, or similar devices that might be used as coin substitutes, as well as genuine coins.

I claim:

1. In a coin-controlled vending machine, means for rejecting all coins or similar articles except genuine coins of suitable Weight, comprising a coin chute down which the coins pass by gravity, retarding means therein acting upon spurious coins, and an overbalanced pivoted deflector in line with the lower end of the chute and having its pivotal point so related to the end of the chute that a retarded coin will strike the deflector so near its pivotal point as to be directed toward the overbalanced end of the deflector, while an unretarded genuine coin will strike the deflector at a point sufficiently remote from its pivot to pass the deflector in a direction away from its overbalanced end.

2. In a coin-controlled vending machine,

' a pivoted overbalanced deflector, and means for directing genuine coins to a point on the deflector sufficiently remote from its pivotal point to overcome the weighted end of the deflector and for directing s urious coins so close to the pivotal point 0 the deflector as to be deflected toward the overbalanced end of said deflector.

3. In a coin-controlled vending machine,

"a coin chute down which coins move by ery chute for spurious coins and its other end in the path of coins coming from the initial coin chute, said deflecting lever having its pivotal point below and beyond the delivery end of the first-named chute.

4. In a coin-controlled vending machine, a coin chute having a downward inclination in the form of a compound curve, terminating at the lower end in a section approaching the horizontal, retarding means coacting with the coin chute to retard spurious or lightweight coins, another chute for directing retarded coins to the outside of the machine,

and an overbalanced deflecting lever having one end normally engaging in the second named chute and its other end'in the path of coins leaving the lower end of the first-named chute, the said overbalanced lever having its pivotal point so located with reference to the delivery end of the first-named chute that retarded coins will engage the lever so near its pivotal point as to be inactive thereto and be diverted thereby into the chute in which the overbalanced end of the lever normally rests. In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

LESLIE A. VANDIVER. \Vitnesses ANDREW Ross, TOM D. WILSON. 

